Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.
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White smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at 6:09 p.m. Rome time on Thursday, signaling that the College of Cardinals had chosen a successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21.
Thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square erupted in cheers as the bells of the basilica began to toll, confirming the election of a new pontiff. The crowds gathered as word spread throughout Rome that a new pope had been chosen.
The new pontiff appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at approximately 7:25 p.m. local time, where Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the protodeacon of the College of Cardinals and Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, announced in Latin: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!”
(“I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope!”)
Before appearing on the balcony, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV spent time in the “Room of Tears,” a small chamber adjacent to the Sistine Chapel. This traditionally named room is where new pontiffs first don the papal vestments and have a moment of private prayer and reflection as they absorb the magnitude of their election to the Chair of St. Peter.
Following the announcement, Leo XIV addressed the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square and those watching around the world, offering his first blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) as the new Roman pontiff.
This article was originally published on CNA.
